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Remarkably warm weather will settle across New England Tuesday and Wednesday with temperatures soaring into the 70s in some locations. In the Hartford area we're forecasting 72F on Tuesday! This kind of warmth is extraordinary for February with 70F temperatures having been achieved only 5 times since 1905.

2/24/1985 - 73F

2/24/2017 - 72F

2-16/1954 - 72F

2/25/2017 - 70F

2/25/1976 - 70F

What's even more remarkable is that two of those five 70F days occured just last year. This year, A ridge of high pressure (exceeding 594dm - something that's typical in June and not February) will develop like a summer "Bermuda High." A ridge of this strength is outside of climatology. What I mean by that is that what is being modeled for Tuesday and Wednesday has not been observed in at least the last 37 years.

Something doesn't seem right here.

As the earth warms extreme periods of warmth during all seasons will become more frequent. According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report it is very likely that the number of cold days and nights has decreased and the number of warm days and nights has increased. Human influence is by far the largest driver of climate change.

As the earth continues to warm we're essentially loading the dice. Extreme warmth in winter, or any time of year for that matter, is more likely. Sure it can still get cold and we can still get a lot of snow (in fact, no decrease in annual snowfall has been observed even as temperatures warm locally) but extreme warmth year after year is becoming more common.